The Economic Research Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its second report, Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, downplayed the impact of glyphosate resistance and gave Bt crops the kid gloves treatment.

GMO advocates rush to tell anyone who is willing to listen that GMOs are safe because they were approved by government agencies. Lobbying statistics reveal a deluge of money greasing the political and regulatory wheels, putting government seals of approval into question.

There is a growing demand from consumers to know what is in their food. In response to this demand, sprouting across the nation are bills seeking to label foods containing genetically modified ingredients.

Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) has once again introduced a bill that would require require the labeling of all foods that contain or are produced with genetically engineered material. It is a counter-balance to another pending legislation that could strip USDA of some of its authority to approve to biotech crops.

Public pension fund managers are increasingly investing in commodities like farmland around the globe. Should workers’ retirement savings be invested in schemes used to displace workers in other parts of the world?

We have been closely following the “ag gag” bills that are cropping up across the country criminalizing the undercover taking of farm videos and photographs. New York is the latest state to consider a bill that would impose more stringent sanctions on those revealing animal abuse than the abusers themselves.

Recently, Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack compared biotechnology and sustainable agriculture to two sons, for whom he declared equal love. Read on to learn why biotech has in fact been the agency’s favorite “son.”

USDA often sides with and promotes industry interests. Its new pilot program allowing biotech developers to prepare their own safety studies or pay for those selected by the agency will only reinforce the image of an agency regulating for the industry.

PAMTA – the legislation that addresses overuse of antibiotics in the agricultural system, which leads to antibiotic resistance in the human population, is once again introduced by Congresswoman Slaughter.

Several scientists at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences recently released a statement fully backing GMOs. While the Holy See tried to distance itself from these statements, recent WikiLeaks revelations belie the Vatican’s claim to neutrality.

A Federal Court ordered the removal of genetically modified beet seedlings. After USDA and Monsanto appealed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is delaying the removal until a hearing that was rescheduled for February.